[Project Complete] Site Redesign/Hosting Co. $350

[Dinohost]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 98827132V)

Company name: Dinohost Inc.

Company profile: Dinohost is a web hosting company offering shared and reseller hosting, as well as domain registration since 2002.

Domain name: www.dinohost.com

What is the scope of this project?: Redesign of current homepage, and a subpage to be used as the template for all subpages (2 pages total). The current site is a "templatemonster" site, customized to meet our needs. The challenge is to create a design which fits our logo, colors, and slogan better. The current site simply does not look/feel like "Dinohost" if you know what I mean. The site should be appealing, fun, and professional, and include a good mix of design and text (spider food). I would like for it to look different from all the cookie cutter "techy", "server image heavy" hosting sites out there. The navigation can stray a bit from what is already on old site, but should include Web Hosting/Reseller Hosting/Domains/Our Network/Support. Top level navigation Home/About Us/Contact Us. But MOST IMPORTANTLY... be creative! I am open to new ideas and designs, not set on a certain layout, blow me away with your ideas!

Who is the intended audience?: Small businesses, web designers, and individuals in need of web hosting services.

Mood or tone?: Words that describe Dinohost are affordable, fast, professional, reliable, customer service oriented, personable.

Colours?: To follow current logo, greens, yellows, but other colors can be mixed in... i.e. We had some decent banners designed where red was introduced (http://dinohost.com/banners/)

What resources can you provide?: Logo http://dinohost.com/logos Slogan- Hi-tech web hosting at prehistoric prices

Websites you like (and competition): http://ecenica.com http://fortunecity.com http://site5.com/ http://relio.com http://dot5hosting.com/index.php

Closing Date: 15 July 2005,

Thank You in advance for participating.

P.S. I am the founder/owner of Dinohost, so this project is personal for me :)

[Aliska]

Hello
I will definitly join to the contest with my idea in several days.

[Dinohost]

Thank You for your interest Aliska, I'm looking forward to seeing your design :)

[pracus]

I will enter tomorrow.

[Dinohost]

Great Pracus! Hopefully we'll get at least 4-5 designers involved eventually :D

Here's another site I found which breaks away from the normal hosting sites. It's a little too cartoony, but very original.

http://ammuu.com/

[Anne]

I've starte on a design

Anne

[Dinohost]

I'm glad you're joining Anne :) I have seen nice work from you while lurking in the forums over the past year.

[Anne]

Thank you :)

Here's my design.
Looking forward to your feedback

Anne

[Dinohost]

Great start Anne!

Likes:
- Navigation layout (add forums to bottom nav)
- Color Scheme (except the dark gray)
- Icons (love our dino in the icons)

Dislikes:
- Don't like the dark gray color for the background, something lighter maybe? or different dark color?

Suggestions:

I would like to deviate from listing all four hosting plans on the main page. I was thinking on featuring our offerings and advantages individually throughout the page.

Feature boxes/bubbles/sections:
- Web hosting section listing the Dino1 plan http://dinohost.com/products.html (with a comment link for more plans)
- Reseller hosting section listing the Reseller1 plan http://dinohost.com/productsr.html (with a comment link for more plans)
- Fantastico section (you can use the smiley Fantastico logo found at http://dinohost.com/fantastico.html)
- 30 Day Money-Back graphic, logo with "seal" for guarantee would be nice (info http://dinohost.com/faq.html#30day)
- 99% Uptime Guarantee graphic (info http://dinohost.com/faq.html#uptime).
- Cpanel highlight (info here http://dinohost.com/cpanel.html )
- 24/7 Support highlight (info on support options here http://dinohost.com/support.html )

With these changes the section at the top with 99% uptime guarantee, 24/7 support, and Dino Advantages is not needed. The "We host web sites for clients all over..." paragraph was added because old design had a big flash header which we needed to fill with text. I never particularly liked it, the header just came with the template...lol. Not sure what to do with the top section after changes.

I hope these suggestions are ok from a design point of view.

[Dinohost]

Cpanel logo if needed http://dinohost.com/images/cpanel.gif, couldn't find transparent one.

[Aliska]

And my idea. Waiting for your comments.

[Dinohost]

Nice work Aliska. I like the look and feel of the page. I would rather not list all the hosting plans in the front page. Your layout works, if you utilize the boxes with the plans to illustrate our features instead (read my guidance in the post above).

[pod]

Hi
I am working on something for you.Can you provide the vector version of dinohost logo

Thanks

[Dinohost]

Hi
I am working on something for you.Can you provide the vector version of dinohost logo

Thanks

Unfortunately all I have is the .psd versions at http://dinohost.com/logos :(

[Anne]

I have two new versions. One with the header (empty) and one without.

#1

[Anne]

#2

[Dinohost]

Very nice Anne, you understood exactly what I wanted. I like the version #2 without the header better, just because the header looks like big empty space.

Other than that version #2 would just require a few minor cosmetic changes if chosen. Like the font color for "reseller plan 1" (green maybe?), and changing the headline for the hosting and reseller sections to read "Web Hosting" and "Reseller Hosting" instead of the plan names. I'd rather incorporate the plan names in the text right below the headline. Also for the headlines "Web Hosting" and "reseller Hosting", maybe an outline like you did for the "Uptime Guarantee" (that looks nice). Lastly in the Cpanel section, remove the version number (10.x) from the headline and just leave it represented in the text below. This make it easier to change the version numbers in the future =)

Great job overall!

[Dinohost]

Very nice Anne, you understood exactly what I wanted. I like the version #2 without the header better, just because the header looks like big empty space.

I just got an idea. Maybe the header can be smaller and used for a domain search box to advertise domain registration for $8.95?


Also looking forward to Pod's entry, Aliska's revision, and any other designers who would like to enter, plenty of time left! :)

[Anne]

Here are the changes to the version with the header.

Anne

[Dinohost]

No further changes from you Anne, looks good.

Only thing I noticed is in Ver# 2, you used green for the Cpanel section, in the update you used red, I think it looked better green :) No need to update this now, we can wait until winner is chosen if you win.

[Dinohost]

I will enter tomorrow.

Pracus will you still be entering?

[Aliska]

Hello,

Here's my second version with all requested changes applied. If you want to see first version with requested rebuildings applied as well please let me know.

Waiting for your reply,
Aliska.

[dziner]

Hi, I am working on a entry, I should have it done by Monday afternoon.
:D

[Dinohost]

Very impressive Aliska! Great work, I like this version alot more than your first one :) Looks more clean, professional, better font selection. I would just make a few minor changes to this new design:

1. In the "Uptime Guarantee" section, the number in the "seal" should be 99%. The section header should also be "Uptime Guarantee", not just "Guarantee".

2. In the "Web Hosting" and "Reseller Hosting" sections, I would like the graphics for "Order" and "More Plans" to be smaller and more "button" like. The space left by the smaller graphics could just be filled with more of the plan description text.

3. In the "30 Day Money Back Guarantee" section, remove the "s" in Days, and change "on all our web hosting plans" to "On all web hosting plans".

Great design overall Aliska!

P.S. I assume the light yellow highlight for the "support" section up top represents a "mouse over" effect, if so, very cool :)

[Dinohost]

Can't wait to see your entry Shelly :) I know you're a great designer from reading the forums and viewing your work.

Pracus and Pod, looking forward to see what you guys are cooking up as well!

[pod]

[QUOTE=Pracus and Pod, looking forward to see what you guys are cooking up as well![/QUOTE]

Hi :chef:
Here is my concept if you like the general idea I will trace your logo for Hİ-RES.
I am looking forward for hearing from you
Thanks

[Aliska]

Hello :)
Changes at my version. Any other ideas for changes/improvements?
And you're right - yellow is for "mouseover" buttons.

[Dinohost]

Here is my concept if you like the general idea I will trace your logo for Hİ-RES.

Pod, it's a start, but it feels like a little "Dino" overkill :blush: The jungle background header is a neat idea, but I would remove the big dino from the header and shrink the header itself a bit. At first glance the sections below all look the same except for the text, try different graphics and colors maybe.

[Dinohost]

Aliska,

I would remove the "Plan1" text from the hosting and reseller sections. Something I still don't like about the "order" buttons, get rid of the big arrow maybe? Smaller more stylized buttons?

Everything else is great :)

[Aliska]

Changes. What do you think?

[Dinohost]

That'll work :) No further changes needed from you at this time Aliska.

[pod]

Hi ,
2nd idea any feedback wellcome :)

[dziner]

Hi, below is a link to one from me. I will be happy to make any revisions you would like to see.
Thanks!

DinoHosting (http://www.yencreative.com/dino/web1.htm)

[Dinohost]

Pod: That's better, a couple of things... I would like to see some more information listed regarding "Fantastico" and "Cpanel" in text. Also the same with the "Uptime Guarantee", it seems lost as an afterthought at the bottom of the 30 Day Money Back text. "Our Advantages" section is no longer needed if you properly illustrate them in the different sections of the page.

Shelly: One word... Beautiful! I would just make some minor grammatical changes to your design. Change the heading in the Cpanel section by removing the software version (9.x), will make it easier just to update the text below as it changes. "Fantastico" heading is misspelled. I would add text links at the very bottom of the page for major navigation pages (including "forums"). I would like to make sure the information inside the sections (DinoPlan1, Reseller, Cpanel, Fantastico, etc...) is in plain text I can easily edit in the future.

Great work overall!

[dziner]

:D I made the changes and fixed the errors. I also spaced out the DinoPlan and Reseller boxes to assure that it can be laid out right in html. I will also make the individual graphics for different numbers as below:
http://www.yencreative.com/dino/sample1.jpg

http://www.yencreative.com/dino/sample2.jpg

Revised DinoHost (http://www.yencreative.com/dino/web1b.htm)

Thank you!
Shelly

[Dinohost]

Looks good Shelly :) No more revisions required from you at this time.

[Luc]

I will enter.

[Dinohost]

I look forward to your design Luc!

[Luc]

Should be done in a few minutes. :)

[Luc]

Here's my entry.

[Dinohost]

Very nice Luc! A couple of things:

1. Like I've asked from the other designers, can you change it so only one "hosting" plan and one "reseller" plan are displayed? You can use the extra space left for a feature section on one of the "advantages" (i.e. Cpanel, or the 30 Day Money back...)

2. If you properly feature all the advantages in the design, the "advantages" section is not needed.

2. Incorporate the "fantastico" logo in the Fantastico section.

Good work so far :)

[Luc]

Revision: :)

[Dinohost]

Nice Luc, a few minor corrections:

1. Different icon for the "Uptime Guarantee" (the existing one looks like "Support" to me).

2. You can just use "Web Hosting" and "Reseller Hosting" as section headers instead of Dino1 plan and Reseller1 plan.

3. Cost for plans should be $5.99 for hosting, and $19.99 for reseller.

Very nice design overall, it's gonna be tough picking a winner here! :)

[Luc]

You're right. I used the wrong icon. :)

[Dinohost]

One last thing Luc,

I've been getting opinions from friends and family on the designs, and everyone has the same comment about yours:

"That's a nice one, but I'm not crazy about the graphic at the top"

Got any more ideas for the header graphic?

Thnx for your revisions so far.

[Luc]

I got the idea from your slogan, Hi-tech / Prehistoric. My idea is a dinosaur in modern place or structure. Looks like it didn't work. :D

[Luc]

How about some abstract?

[Dinohost]

I understood it :) , but it seems others don't. Let me know if you can come up with an alternative.

How about some abstract?

Maybe? I'm open to any ideas.

[Luc]

Ok.

[Luc]

Now this is an abstract photo that happens to look like a dino tail or something.

[Dinohost]

I like it, what would it look like with the logo on the left like before? Did you move it for a reason?

[Luc]

Yes. I think the left side will look crowded with the logo on it and the right side of the header is empty.

[Dinohost]

How about the logo back on the left, and a domain search box on the right? Not convinced about the logo on the right, it just looks out of place.

[Luc]

Ok :)

[Dinohost]

Very nice :) It looks like the "airbrush" treatment under the logo faded the Dino a bit at the bottom. I don't think the "airbrush" is needed, the "drop shadow" you added to the slogan gives enough contrast as-is.

[Luc]

Here

[Dinohost]

Your entry is ok as-is Luc, no further changes until a winner is chosen.

[Luc]

Cool. We look forward to your decision.

[Dinohost]

Looks like we will adhere to our initial deadline. Winner will be chosen by the end of the day tomorrow 7/15/05. Thanks for all the entries and revisions so far, we will have a difficult time deciding between so many quality designs.

[Dinohost]

The time has come to choose a winner, this was a tough choice due to the quality of all the entries.

The winner is Luc! :)

I would like to thank Anne, Aliska, Shelly, and Pod for your entries and revisions. I'm very impressed with all your work.

Luc, I would like one final revision to the main page, and would like to get started on the sub-page.

For the main page, we have decided not to list the 1-800 number since we only use it for emergency support, and we don't conduct sales over the phone.

I would like to see the logo with the dark green translucent background in post #50 placed in the upper left corner of the final design.

For the sub-page, I would like a list of the web hosting plans similar to the one at http://www.emaxhosting.com/shared.html or http://okihost.com/hosting.html. It should be a design easy to edit, remove the table, and insert other info to create the rest of the sub-pages.

Thank You.

[Anne]

Congratulation Luc. Great competition :D

[Luc]

Thanks for choosing me! Sorry for the delay. No power yesterday. :(

[Luc]

Please approve design before I proceed to the subpage.

[Dinohost]

Could you make the translucent box for the logo a shade darker? Also there seems to be remains of an "airbrush" treatment you did below the logo, and I noticed there are more circles below the logo than there were in post #50. Do you have an extra layer in there somewhere? I like the way the header graphic looked in post #50.

Thanks.

[Luc]

Revision:

[Dinohost]

That's it :) The home page is ready for coding. Looking forward to the sub-page.

[Luc]

http://www.weevox.com/clientsites/dinohost/subpage.htm

[Dinohost]

Good start Luc :) I love the table for the plans, nice colors, text can easily be edited, nice graphics with the "order button" and "checkmarks".

I would make one major change to the layout of the sub-page. It must be distributed in more of a "header" and "footer" design. What I mean is a page where the top and bottom of the page can easily be integrated in my Modernbill order page https://dinohost.com/billing/order/orderwiz.php?v=1 , network status page http://dinostatus.com , etc... As it stands currently the left side of the page with the feature sections is going to give me trouble integrating it to my site.

Thank You

[Luc]

http://www.weevox.com/clientsites/dinohost/subpage2.htm

[Dinohost]

I like them both :) The first one looks better, but the second one is more functional.

Is it possible to receive both versions with the final project files, and I'll decide which one to use? If so we can call this project a wrap, and you can get paid once I receive the files :)

P.S. One little thing, the sub-menu up top with "home, about us, contact us" does not have the hyperlink properties that the rest of the page does (mouseover, etc...). This can be corrected with the final delivered files.

Thank you for your hard work Luc!

[Luc]

Files sent! Please check your Private Message.

[Dinohost]

Files received, pay the man!

It was a pleasure working with you Luc, you are a great designer. Quality work and always on time.

My experience with my first D.O. project was a very positive one. I would definitely use D.O. for future projects.

Thank You

[Luc]

I'm not a man :D Thanks for the compliment! I hope you can post this in the Testimonials (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6)

Goodluck with your new design! :)

[Dinohost]

Whoops! :blush: I'm sorry.

Pay the woman! :D